What art is in your home?

We have a lot pf stuff hanging on the walls but I'm not sure much of it qualifies as art. There was a matching set of officers of the highland regiments in the British Army in full dress in 1914. I think there were six but four were replaced by really ancient prints that came down through my wife's family. There is a large print over the fireplace of Mt. Vernon, which my wife's grandmother's grandfather owned. On the opposite wall, next to a handmade quilt is a painting of the log house my grandparents owned in West Virginia. The combination of those pictures is no doubt there to remind me of our respective origins. But the painting of the house on my side of the family is an original. One of my uncles painted it. There's also a picture of Stonewall Jackson and a framed Confederate States war bond for $1,000. Not much else worth mentioning.

What is your taste in art? a sculpture, painting or print that just grabbed you?
I am a sucker for impressionist art and have a numbered litho of Mischa Lenn's up in here.
It's called Joie de vive and I couldn't resist it.

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A lovely piece, DeaconKC.

In my household there are about 20 prints of Tamara de Lempicka's work. In my study I have an especially large print of her picture of Prince Eristoff.

About five years ago, I wrote an article on Ed Reep, a World War II combat artist who served in North Africa and Italy. He was alive when the article was published in AMERICA IN WWII magazine and I was so, so very glad he got to see it. Sadly, he died a few years later, having lived to well into his 90s. His daughter was taking a cross country trip and was coming through Nebraska. She wanted to meet me for supper. So, I met her and her husband and she had a gift for me: a giclee print of one of her father's artworks that he did in Italy. It is called "Pack Train" and depicts the slog of taking supplies through the mud in Italy. All of the art he did during the war is at the U.S. Army Center for Military History in D.C. , so to have a print of this is indeed special.

About five years ago, I wrote an article on Ed Reep, a World War II combat artist who served in North Africa and Italy. He was alive when the article was published in AMERICA IN WWII magazine and I was so, so very glad he got to see it. Sadly, he died a few years later, having lived to well into his 90s. His daughter was taking a cross country trip and was coming through Nebraska. She wanted to meet me for supper. So, I met her and her husband and she had a gift for me: a giclee print of one of her father's artworks that he did in Italy. It is called "Pack Train" and depicts the slog of taking supplies through the mud in Italy. All of the art he did during the war is at the U.S. Army Center for Military History in D.C. , so to have a print of this is indeed special.

I had the print framed this year and it is now in my living room.

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⇧ That is really, really special. The direct connect to WWII is fantastic and your personal connect to the artist and his family is wonderful. (Nice choice of frame.*) That is just a great story and piece of art to have in your house.

* I now am used to it as we've had a few modest prints framed, but if you haven't framed something before, the price is shocking - we paid more to frame one of our prints than we paid for the print itself.

⇧ That is really, really special. The direct connect to WWII is fantastic and your personal connect to the artist and his family is wonderful. (Nice choice of frame.*) That is just a great story and piece of art to have in your house.

* I now am used to it as we've had a few modest prints framed, but if you haven't framed something before, the price is shocking - we paid more to frame one of our prints than we paid for the print itself.

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Thank you! Yes, I am so, so grateful to have made this connection. I want to write a book about Ed's WW2 experiences, but I simply don't have the time or health to do it right now.

And yes, the frame was VERY expensive. I was shocked at how much it cost. But definitely worth it.

Thank you! Yes, I am so, so grateful to have made this connection. I want to write a book about Ed's WW2 experiences, but I simply don't have the time or health to do it right now.

And yes, the frame was VERY expensive. I was shocked at how much it cost. But definitely worth it.

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I showed your post to my girlfriend and she had good suggestion which is that you should write up the history / provenance of the print - include any documentation you have - and attached it to the back of the print. This will help any future valuation / historical documentation / study of Ed's life / etc. as it might hang in your house and your daughter's house for the next sixty years or so. At that point, your documentation would be incredibly helpful to those trying to understand the print's significance.

Separately, I'm sure it's a low margin business or there'd be a lot more of them and corporate America would have displaced the mom-and-pop stores that seem to dominate the print framing business, but it sure does't feel low margin as a customer.

I showed your post to my girlfriend and she had good suggestion which is that you should write up the history / provenance of the print - include any documentation you have - and attached it to the back of the print. This will help any future valuation / historical documentation / study of Ed's life / etc. as it might hang in your house and your daughter's house for the next sixty years or so. At that point, your documentation would be incredibly helpful to those trying to understand the print's significance.

Separately, I'm sure it's a low margin business or there be a lot more of them and corporate America would have displaced the mom-and-pop stores that seem to dominate the print framing business, but it sure does't feel low margin as a customer.

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That is an EXCELLENT idea. Thank you and tell your girlfriend thank you, as well!

Meet Ping and Pong, two cast iron (we think) ducks my girlfriend's parents bought for us at an estate sale (a true estate - gated entry and all). The estate was reasonably close to their house and her mom said these two ducks used to hold the estate gates open (or looked like they were anyway). They were outside, year round - in Michigan (!) - for decades. She loved them and when the items went up for sale, she grabbed them.

At the sale they had no hard documentation, but the story she was told was that they were early molds for Disney props back in the '20s or '30s. They are heavy as heck - my guess - thirty pounds each. They weren't expensive as, without documentation, they are just old ornamental ducks. We named them Ping (the upright guy) and Pong. They've been holding two doors open in our thankfully windy apartment - much easier work for them than holding heavy gates open in all types of weather.

If we had anything to go on, we'd do some research to see if they really have an interesting past, but with no docs and no numbers, etc., on the iron that we could see - there's really not much we can think to do. I looked into (sitting on my butt, on-line) the show "History Detectives," but they, too and quite reasonably, need more to go on than the item and a hearsay story.

Hardly art (especially after some of the impressive prior posts by others), but probably our nicest "art" or decorative items (also, nearly our only decorative items as well).

Meet Ping and Pong, two cast iron (we think) ducks my girlfriend's parents bought for us at an estate sale (a true estate - gated entry and all). The estate was reasonably close to their house and her mom said these two ducks used to hold the estate gates open (or looked like they were anyway). They were outside, year round - in Michigan (!) - for decades. She loved them and when the items went up for sale, she grabbed them.

At the sale they had no hard documentation, but the story she was told was that they were early molds for Disney props back in the '20s or '30s. They are heavy as heck - my guess - thirty pounds each. They weren't expensive as, without documentation, they are just old ornamental ducks. We named them Ping (the upright guy) and Pong. They've been holding two doors open in our thankfully windy apartment - much easier work for them than holding heavy gates open in all types of weather.

If we had anything to go on, we'd do some research to see if they really have an interesting past, but with no docs and no numbers, etc., on the iron that we could see - there's really not much we can think to do. I looked into (sitting on my butt, on-line) the show "History Detectives," but they, too and quite reasonably, need more to go on than the item and a hearsay story.

Hardly art (especially after some of the impressive prior posts by others), but probably our nicest "art" or decorative items (also, nearly our only decorative items as well).

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Cool! These are the "Naughty and Nice Duck" cast iron door stops (often sold as a pair, but not always) manufactured by the now defunct Virginia Metalcrafters. They were produced from the 1950s until the plant here closed in the mid 2000s.

Cool! These are the "Naughty and Nice Duck" cast iron door stops (often sold as a pair, but not always) manufactured by the now defunct Virginia Metalcrafters. They were produced from the 1950s until the plant here closed in the mid 2000s.

I received this signed/numbered Scott Mutter photomontage as a gift when I left a position in Chicago in 1990. I admired it in a gallery display and when my wife was asked for gift suggestions, she suggested the print. The background is Water Tower Place on upper Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

Later I purchased a book of his work - technically exceptional for the time, but truly odd. Google his work; it's definitely different.

For me, maritime art all (well, most, of the way - I like 1920s erotica but...)

I have some vintage pieces hanging: a 1960s era print of the Wavertree ship (which is currently preserved in NYC's South Street Seaport Museum) - this came with a book as well; then a vintage print of a 1925 painting by German artist Johannes Holst. Other items are from books and magazines. Two book pages I bought, but I also have the book as well (with the pages in) - these were by a German artist and the book is "Unter Segel Rund Kap Hoorn". The magazine pages are from a 1930s National Geographic - story by Australian sailor Alan Villiers. I also have some vintage German Cape Horn ship post cards: the photo one is the Passat (which is kept preserved in Travemunde if I recall right), the other is a painting of a ship. There's also a vintage small print that I got of a ship which I really liked, and a poster print of Frank Vinning Smith's Far Horizons.